Google Makes Changes in Its Non-Profit Wing

Dr. Larry Brilliant, who has been in charge of the organization since 2006, will be stepping aside, adopting the very Google title of Chief Philanthropy Evangelist (anyone else think that "chief philanthropy evangelist Dr. Larry Brilliant" sounds vaguely like the title of a cult leader?).

Google is shaking things up a bit at its philanthropic arm, Google.org. Dr. Larry Brilliant, who has been in charge of the organization since 2006, will be stepping aside, adopting the very Google title of Chief Philanthropy Evangelist (anyone else think that "chief philanthropy evangelist Dr. Larry Brilliant" sounds vaguely like the title of a cult leader?).

In his stead, Google's VP of new business development, Megan Smith, will be taking on an additional role as general manager of Google.org. The move is part of a plan to help incorporate Google.org into Google's larger business plan, in order to play on the company's technological strengths--which in the past have led to such Google.org innovations as Flu Trends, RechargeIT, Clean Energy 2030, and PowerMeter. As part of the move, Google will also invest more engineering and technical employees in the non-profit arm of the company.

"In this global economic crisis, the work Google.org is doing, together with our many colleagues around the world, to help develop cheap clean energy, find and fight disease outbreaks before they sweep the globe, and build information platforms for underserved people globally, is more important than ever," wrote Brilliant in a blog post. "We stand behind the commitment made in 2004 to devote 1% of Google's equity and profits to philanthropy, and we will continue to iterate on our philanthropic model to make sure our resources have the greatest possible impact for good."

Brian Heater has worked at a number of tech pubs, including Engadget, Laptop, and PCMag (where he served as Senior Editor). Most recently, he was as the Managing Editor of TechTimes.com. His writing has appeared in Spin, Wired, Playboy, Entertainment Weekly, The Onion, Boing Boing, Publishers Weekly, The Daily Beast and various other publications. He hosts the weekly Boing Boing interview podcast RiYL, has appeared as a regular NPR contributor and shares his Queens apartment with a rabbit named Lucy.
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